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General Tarleton Inn, North Yorkshire

Tommy Banks, one of Yorkshire’s favourite foodie sons, is best known for his award-winning restaurant the Black Swan at Oldstead, and he also has deep pub roots. Actually, the Black Swan started out as one, with Banks serving drinks at his family’s establishment before graduating to the kitchen. In 2023, he opened the Abbey Inn in Byland, and he has recently launched a hospitality arm dedicated to restoring other pubs across the UK. First up is General Tarleton with eight rooms in the village of Ferrensby, near Harrogate. The cuisine is exceptional, with refined versions of traditional pub dishes made with regional ingredients – ideal sustenance for riverside strolls and into the Nidd Gorge, a local beauty spot.

Bat and Ball Inn, Oxfordshire

It’s dogs by the fire and dog collars at the bar at this quaint inn in the village of Cuddesdon, best known for its clergy college. It launched at the start of the year by the proprietors of Lamb Inn in nearby Little Milton, and the culinary team at both locations cut their teeth at two-Michelin-star Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons down the road. The Bat and Ball is the more casual of the pair – there’s even a dart board – and dishes take typical pub fare and dial them up with premium local produce. The five bedrooms have walls painted in rich autumnal shades to match the nearby landscape, which is nestled between the Cotswolds and Chilterns.

King’s Arms, Lake District

This independently run inn, which reopened at the end of August, is at the heart of the Lakeland village of Hawkshead, around the corner from the Beatrix Potter gallery and the Hawkshead Grammar School museum, where the poet Wordsworth carved his name into his desk. It’s rich in history in oak beams and slate floors at the King’s Arms too, which originates in the 1600s. Behind the dark-wood panelled bar is a roster of local beers including Coniston Old Man Ale and Cumbrian Ales Loweswater Gold, while the menu focuses on classics with Cumberland scotch eggs and beef wellington. Just the thing to be tucking into after a hike up nearby Latterbarrow fell.

Wellington Hotel, Cornish Coast

Known affectionately as The Welly, this centuries-old coaching inn overlooks Boscastle harbour on the rugged north Cornwall coast. A local brewery recently invested heavily doing it up, and it shows in the cosy dining rooms, snugs and stained glass panelling. The best rooms are the turret suites with freestanding baths, but all 14 come with artwork by local artists and ordnance survey maps and guidebooks for the coast path for walks. The path runs right outside: heading west to Tintagel Castle, legendary birthplace of King Arthur according to legend, or east towards Pentargon waterfall. Post-hike, there’s pints of Proper Job by the fire and servings of fish and chips to look forward to, made with fresh local fish in Gem Ale batter.

The Woolpack Inn, Hampshire

Recently renovated by influential interior designer Nina Campbell, this rural inn is the centre of life in the small village of Totford in the tranquil Candover valley. It is surrounded by fields and woodlands, so chef Luke Stradling has abundant regional ingredients to draw on – supplemented by the pub’s sizeable vegetable garden, currently growing pumpkin, celeriac and winter leaves. As well as supplying almost all the vegetables on the menu, staff also contribute 20% of the harvest to community charities and shelters. Upstairs, eight bedrooms are themed after game birds, but it’s fly fishing the local main attraction – angling for trout in the famous chalk stream of the River Itchen.

The Fleur de Lys, Dorset Countryside

Hospitality group Chickpea has mastered the contemporary inns with accommodation formula – excellent cuisine, friendly bar and keen prices for overnighters. The latest addition to the fold is the Fleur de Lys, a historic inn in the village of Cranbourne. The novelist Thomas Hardy was a frequent visitor here and makes reference to it in his novel Tess. The renovation reflects its period charm: hops drape over the large open fireplace, candles flicker on tables and, upstairs, the nine bedrooms are decorated in muted colours. Walking routes loop around Cranborne Estate, with dishes such as Brixham bass, venison chop and sticky toffee pudding to look forward to back at the pub afterwards.

Penny Bun Inn, North Yorkshire

Named after a mushroom found in local woods, Penny Bun is a break from conventional pubs. With its clay-plastered walls and palette of earthy browns, the style is minimalist than traditional pub fixtures. Located between Ilkley and Otley in the Yorkshire Dales, the recently opened pub is part of the Denton Reserve, a 2,500-acre estate undergoing a sustainably led transformation, focusing on carbon capture and regenerative farming. It provides many of the ingredients found on the menu at the Penny Bun, such as pork croquette salad or gnocchi with roasted garden beetroots. The serene decor particularly suits the five bedrooms (the best room comes with a freestanding bath), with deep beds to sink into after walks across Ilkley Moor, right outside the front door.

The Ship, Norfolk Coast

This summer, The Peyton sisters revitalized this historic coastal inn with nine rustic rooms in the village of Brancaster. The cuisine has a light Mediterranean touch, and while menus have a focus on seafood (a short walk from the coast), game from local estates is the star turn in autumn. On Sundays, expect whole pot-roasted venison shoulders served with foraged mushrooms instead of traditional meats, while in the front bar relax by the fireplace and tuck into a pork roll or monkfish with a pint of Moon Gazer Ale. Outside, Norfolk’s big skies look particularly stunning at this time of year – look out for flocks of migrating pink-footed geese – and trails cut through dunes and marshes.

The Leicester Arms, Kent

Across the road from the entrance to Penshurst Place, this Grade II-listed pub is more attractive than ever after a major renovation last year. It’s easy to see why it won Kent’s county prize at the 2025 National Bar and Pub Awards: there are plush armchairs by the fire in the bar, real Kentish ales from a local brewery, and cut-above cooking in the dining room. The menu focuses on local produce, with Kent lamb scotch egg and Whitstable oysters, while the 11 botanically named bedrooms are decorated in a classic style. Four rooms come with clawfoot tubs for soaking after walks after a stroll around the Penshurst Estate past the River Medway, lakes and ancient oaks.

The Swan, Sussex Countryside

The two-and-a-half year refurbishment of this Grade II-listed coaching inn in Fittleworth on the edge of the South Downs was well worth it. Period details from its medieval origins mix with stylish comfort in the bar, restaurant and 12 beautifully designed rooms – though it remains “proudly old fashioned”, says owner Angus Davies. Dining in the wood-panelled, art-adorned dining room draw on local seasonal ingredients (wild mushrooms and fresh plum pudding on our visit) and lavish breakfasts are served in the barn in the gardens. Historic guestbooks are fascinating: famous visitors include JMW Turner, John Constable and Rudyard Kipling. Nearby activities abound, from antique shopping in local villages to walks on the downs, Petworth House and Arundel castle.

The Nevill Arms, Leicestershire

With its picturesque villages, charming towns and undulating landscape, Welland Valley is in a region sometimes referred to as the Notswolds (similar to the Cotswolds but without the price tag). The Nevill Arms in the village of Medbourne was revamped in 2023, with 10 rooms (some with four-poster beds) spread between the pub and its converted stables – and next year they’ll add a three-bedroom stone cottage next door too. On the food front, meats are reared on the owner’s farm, while in the blue bar there’s a changing selection of Langton ales on tap – the most popular of which is an amber bitter, Inclined Plane, named after the canal lift at nearby Foxton Locks.

New Inn Yealand, Lancashire

Young couple Ben and Lauren Sandiford assumed the running of this seven-room inn in April. Ben brought his chef experience to the kitchen, which now turns out elevated comfort dishes (shepherd's pie with mash and ewe’s cheese crumb or beef and ale suet pudding) to be eaten in the beamed dining room beside the log burner. The bar attracts locals sipping on